Coloma (

Nisenan The Nisenan are a group of Native Americans in the United States, Native Americans and an Indigenous people of California from the Yuba River and American River watersheds in Northern California and the California Central Valley. According to a ...

: ''Cullumah'', meaning "beautiful") is a

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

El Dorado County, California El Dorado County (; ''El Dorado'', Spanish for "The Golden ne), officially the County of El Dorado, is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 191,185. The county seat is Placerville. Th ...

, United States. It is approximately northeast of

Sacramento, California Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat, seat of Sacramento County, California, Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento Rive ...

. Coloma is most noted for being the site where James W. Marshall found gold in the

Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada ( ) is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primari ...

foothills, at

Sutter's Mill Sutter's Mill was a water-powered sawmill on the bank of the South Fork American River in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada in California. It was named after its owner John Sutter. A worker constructing the mill, James W. Marshall, found go ...

on January 24, 1848, leading to the

California gold rush The California gold rush (1848–1855) began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The news of gold brought approximately 300,000 people to California from the rest of the U ...

. Coloma's population is 521. The settlement is a tourist attraction known for its

ghost town A ghost town, deserted city, extinct town, or abandoned city is an abandoned settlement, usually one that contains substantial visible remaining buildings and infrastructure such as roads. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economi ...

and the centerpiece of the

Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park is a state park of California, United States, marking the discovery of gold by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in 1848, sparking the California Gold Rush. The park grounds include much of the histo ...

. Coloma was designated a

National Historic Landmark District A National Historic Landmark District (NHLD) is a geographical area that has received recognition from the United States Government that the buildings, landscapes, cultural features and archaeological resources within it are of the highest signific ...

on July 4, 1961. and It lies at an elevation of .

Etymology

The name comes from the

Native Americans name for the valley in which Coloma is located: ''Cullumah'', meaning 'beautiful.' Coloma is on the South Fork American River that runs through the valley and was built on the original Indian village of Koloma. Former spellings include "Colluma" and "Culloma".

History

Coloma grew around Sutter's Mill following the finding of gold. A post office was established in 1849 under the name Culloma, changing to Coloma in 1851. One of Coloma's earliest settlers was

Silas Sanderson Silas Woodruff Sanderson (April 16, 1824 – June 24, 1886) was the seventh Chief Justice of California. Biography Born in Sandgate, Vermont, Sanderson attended Burr Seminary, Williams College, and Union College, graduating from the last in ...

(1824–1886), who went on to become the 7th Chief Justice of California. Another was

Nancy Gooch Nancy Gooch (c. 1811 – September 17, 1901) was an early African American settler in California and one of the state's most successful 19th-century black female landowners. Gooch gained her freedom when California entered the Union as a free st ...

, who was one of the first black women to succeed in California.

Ghost town

While some people still live in the area, Coloma is considered something of a ghost town because civic buildings such as the jail have been abandoned and left to decay, and other buildings from its boom era (1847–1852) have been converted into museums and other historical displays. The tailrace of Sutter's Mill remains, as does a nearby reconstruction. In reality the meaningfulness of the township of Coloma has dissipated as residents who live in the wider Coloma Valley area generally share a community spirit. The local economy is based predominantly on agriculture and tourism. Of particular note is the rafting industry as the South Fork American River is one of the most popular white-water trips in North America.

Demographics

Coloma first appeared as a

census designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

in the 2010 U.S. Census. Coloma CA - post office

James Marshall cabin in Coloma California

The 2020 United States census reported that Coloma had a population of 521. The population density was . The racial makeup of Coloma was 417 (80.0%)

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 5 (1.0%)

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 3 (0.6%) Native American, 6 (1.2%) Asian, 0 (0.0%)

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 22 (4.2%) from other races, and 68 (13.1%) from two or more races.

Hispanic or Latino ''Hispanic'' and '' Latino'' are ethnonyms used to refer collectively to the inhabitants of the United States who are of Spanish or Latin American ancestry (). While many use the terms interchangeably, for example, the United States Census Bureau ...

of any race were 60 persons (11.5%). The census reported that 504 people (96.7% of the population) lived in households, 17 (3.3%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and no one was institutionalized. There were 222 households, out of which 79 (35.6%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 133 (59.9%) were married-couple households, 15 (6.8%) were

cohabiting Cohabitation is an arrangement where people who are not legally married live together as a couple. They are often involved in a romantic or sexually intimate relationship on a long-term or permanent basis. Such arrangements have become incr ...

couple households, 47 (21.2%) had a female householder with no partner present, and 27 (12.2%) had a male householder with no partner present. 28 households (12.6%) were one person, and 16 (7.2%) were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.27. There were 169

families Family (from ) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictability, structure, and safety as ...

(76.1% of all households). The age distribution was 62 people (11.9%) under the age of 18, 40 people (7.7%) aged 18 to 24, 98 people (18.8%) aged 25 to 44, 167 people (32.1%) aged 45 to 64, and 154 people (29.6%) who were 65years of age or older. The median age was 55.9years. For every 100 females, there were 101.9 males. There were 267 housing units at an average density of , of which 222 (83.1%) were occupied. Of these, 170 (76.6%) were owner-occupied, and 52 (23.4%) were occupied by renters.

Politics

In the

state legislature A state legislature is a Legislature, legislative branch or body of a State (country subdivision), political subdivision in a Federalism, federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of ...

, Coloma is in , and . Federally, Coloma is in .

Climate

According to the

Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

system, Coloma has a

warm-summer Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate ( ), also called a dry summer climate, described by Köppen and Trewartha as ''Cs'', is a temperate climate type that occurs in the lower mid-latitudes (normally 30 to 44 north and south latitude). Such climates typic ...

, abbreviated "Csa" on climate maps.

Sister cities

Coloma is sister cities with Clunes, Australia.

Notable people

References

External links

* * * * * * * * *
Local visitor's guide
{{authority control California Gold Rush Census-designated places in El Dorado County, California Ghost towns in California Mining communities of the California Gold Rush Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in California National Historic Landmarks in California National Register of Historic Places in El Dorado County, California Former county seats in California Historic American Buildings Survey in California Populated places established in 1849 1849 establishments in California Census-designated places in California Populated places on the National Register of Historic Places in California National Historic Landmark Districts